Great Migrations

National Geographic Channel's Great Migrations is a seven-part global television event that takes viewers around the world on the arduous journeys millions of animals undertake to ensure the survival of their species. Shot from land and air, in trees and cliff-blinds, on ice floes and underwater, Great Migrations tells the formidable, powerful stories of many of the planet's species and their movements, while revealing new scientific discoveries with breathtaking high-definition clarity.

2nd Look Animals: Komodo Dragon

Komodo Dragons

What a strange animal. A reptile by the name Varanus komodoensis (Komodo Dragon) is truly the only living Dragon on earth. Millions of years old, Komodos lived in the extremely challenging climate of Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands for millions of years. They were only discovered lately, about 100 years ago. And what a discovery! It is still surprising the world didn't know about these large lizards way before 100 years ago.

Quick Facts:

Type: Reptile

Diet: Carnivore

Average Lifespan in Wild: 30+ Years

Size: 10 feet

Weight: 150 lbs (68 kg)

Speed: 11 Mph (18 kph) in short bursts Poisonous

Protection status: Endangered

Profile:

Heaviest lizards on Earth, they have features like long flat heads with rounded snouts, scaly skin, bowed thick legs, and huge powerful tails. Dominant predators on the islands they inhabit and eat almost any living creature. Mostly they eat carrion, deer, pigs, smaller dragons, and even water buffalo. Some people even add humans to that list! Hunting they depend on camouflage and sit and wait for pray to come. When the time to attack comes, the dragon springs using its powerful legs, accurately sharp claws, and serrated, shark-like teeth to eviscerate its prey. The reason why it’s so deadly is whatever it bites, even if fled to escape after the bite wouldn’t even live for 24 hours. See, Dragon saliva contains over 50 strands of bacteria causing the bitten prey to die of blood poisoning. Dragons don’t run after there pray, after bitten they slowly follow them for miles even tracking them with there keen sense of smell to locate the corpse. These guys aren’t light eaters in the least. These guys can take in 80 percent of its body weight in one sitting! If it weighed 150 lbs it could eat 120lbs at one feeding! It just goes to show you to never cross paths with a Komodo.

Worldly Status:

Komodo Dragons have a steady population of approximately 3,000 to 5,000. They are found mostly on the islands of Komodo, Gila Motang, Rinca, and Flores. A dearth of egg-laying females have less Komodos being born. This, with poaching, human encroachment, and natural disasters has sent the Komodo Dragon to endangered status!

Help the Earth

If you wish to help the Komodo Dragon and help all of the world's animals and ecosystems Donate to the WWF.

World Wildlife Fund - Home

Endangered Species at World Wildlife Fund. At WWF, we are the leader in wildlife conservation and preservation of animal habitats around the world. Join World Wildlife Fund and support our conservation efforts.

 Where the  Komodo Dragons Found:

Komodo dragons are the world's largest lizards. They live on the islands of Komodo, Rinca and other tiny surrounding islands, and on the westernmost part of Flores Island in Indonesia. Komodo is west of Flores, east of Sumbawa, and north of Sumba.

    If you are an ordinary person, you can only reach Komodo by boat. If you are a wealthy celebrity, you might be able to get permission to fly there in a helicopter and use the helicopter pad that was constructed especially for President Suharto.
 
    Komodo and Rinca are odd islands. They are dry, hot, and relatively barren compared to the lush and jungly islands to the east and west of them in the Nusa Tenggara island chain.  As you approach from a distance, you see Komodo as a low, hilly island.

Getting to and finding the Komodo Dragons on Rinca Island is an Indonesian adventure that you will never forget – these protected creatures are one of the most interesting encounters you will have in the wild!

View Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/2nd-Look-Animals-Komodo-Dragon

Tiger may disappear in 10 Years

The magic figure is finally out. The Ministry of Environment and Forests on Tuesday finally announced just how many tigers India has. The number is 1,411 and with the graph on a downward curve, Project Tiger has come to the point where it first started 30 years ago.

A look at the figures from 2002 and 2006 tell the story:

• In Madhya Pradesh, the number of tigers has more than halfed from 710 in 2002 to 300 tigers in 2006.
• In Orissa, the tiger population has gone down from 173 to just 45 tigers.
  
• The figures are just as dismal in Maharashtra, form 238 in 2002 to 103 tigers in 2006.

Head National Tiger Conservation Authority, Rajesh Gopal says, "We have suggested a way forward for states and this is going to be a starting point for rebuilding tiger conservation."

It was only in 2006 that the Ministry of Environment and Forests changed the method of counting tigers.

The earlier method of using pugmarks to count tigers has been supplemented with additional scientific methods like the Camera Trap Method and recording prey densities of animals like the deer and the chinkara. 

However, the Minister for Environment and Forests, Reghupathy, believes there is no cause for worry.

"Their numbers have declined only outside protected areas. Inside they are fine," says he. 

The tiger is present only in seven per cent of its geographical area. As its numbers crash, it is clear that the tiger is not only India's most endangered but perhaps the most controvercial cat.

If urgent steps are not taken, scientists say the tiger may be gone within the next decade. 

View Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/tiger-may-disappear-in-10-yrs-forest-minister-unmoved/58792-3.html

Not your ordinary next door neighbours - Street Monkeys

Among the leafy avenues of an exclusive residential estate in South Africa, a turf war between rival gangs is breaking out. Battle lines have been drawn and teeth are bared. But, it is not humans leading the charge on this offensive attack; it is their primate cousins – the wily Vervet monkeys.


This 5-part series follows the Pani troop of Vervet monkeys as they screech, bite and broadside their way to the top of the monkey pyramid in this real life monkey soap opera. What these Vervets lack in size, they make up for in resourcefulness and insatiable curiosity. Scaling rooftops and sneaking through windows, the Vervets have made Mt. Edgecombe – an exclusive residential club estate in Durban, South Africa – their personal playground. Like kids in a candy store, the Vervet monkeys of the Pani troop steal almost any food they can get their hands on, and a sugar rush has much the same effect on these little monkeys as on little humans.


But life is about to get much more difficult for the Pani troop, as invading Vervets from the outside threaten to overtake the Pani territory. The troop must band together or risk losing everything. The Pani males are more interested in showing off their assets and securing their position in the male hierarchy than in guarding the troop. Will alpha female Bess and her Pani sisterhood be able to protect the Pani stake in Mt. Edgecombe from the streetwise Sugar Cane Gang? And when a monkey in their midst starts attacking the juveniles, will the Pani females be able to fend off the attacker before it is too late?


With key insight into Vervet behaviour and a play-by-play analysis of complex Vervet gestures and movements, Street Monkeys opens a unique window into these adorable primates’ everyday interactions, which can be surprisingly similar to their more advanced human counterparts.

View source: www.natgeotv.co.in